fealty

[ fee-uhl-tee ]

noun

, plural fe·al·ties.

1. History/Historical.
   1. fidelity to a lord.
   2. the obligation or the engagement to be faithful to a lord, usually sworn to by a vassal.
2. fidelity; faithfulness.

   Synonyms: devotion, loyalty

fealty

/ ˈfiːəltɪ /

noun

1. (in feudal society) the loyalty sworn to one's lord on becoming his vassal See homage

Other Words From

• non·feal·ty noun plural nonfealties
• un·feal·ty noun plural unfealties

Word History and Origins

Origin of fealty¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English feute, feaute, fealtye, from Anglo-French, Old French feauté, fealté, from Latin fidēlitāt- (stem of fidēlitās ) fidelity; internal -au-, -al- from feal, reshaping (by substitution of -al- -al ¹ ) of fe(d)eil, from Latin fidēlis

Word History and Origins

Origin of fealty¹

C14: from Old French fealte , from Latin fidēlitās fidelity

Example Sentences

For some, that brand of fealty is in line with Trump’s choice for his secretary of Defense: conservative Fox News personality and military combat veteran Pete Hegseth.

From Los Angeles Times

“I do think this is a loyalty choice — really, the better word we should be using is fealty choice,” Bolton said in a CNN interview.

From Los Angeles Times

It sure looks as if he scrambled to develop this novel theory to assure Trump of his fealty and avoid getting bumped off the Supreme Court short list for his lone defection from MAGA.

From Slate

Meanwhile, Trump fumed – blaming the Republican shortcomings on the party’s support of unpopular abortion restrictions and insufficient fealty to his own brand of conservative populism.

From BBC

He shows fealty to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says Jews who don’t vote for him hate their religion, hate Israel and “should have their head examined.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• faithfulness
• loyalty